Wear and strain resisting fabric



May 12, 1925.

3 SheetsffSheet l Filed sept. 10. 1930 May 12, 1925.

J; BROWN WEAR AND STRAIN RESISTING FABRIC s sheetssheet Filed Sept. 10, 1920 um Q m vl@ atroz 14mg.

May l2, 1925.

J. BROWN WEA AND STRAIN RESISTING FABRIC 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v'Filed sept. 1o, 19'20 gnvwnloz Jo :La ww,

v allotncg Patented May 12,.r 1925,.

teams@ @NHED Haras artnr ossea;

JOHN BROWN, OF UCKLN), NEW ZEALAND.

WEAR Ann STRAIN nnsrsrrne FABRIC.

Application filed September To all whom t may concer/n.' f

Be it known that I, JOHN BROWN, a subject of the King of Great lBritain and 1reland, and resident of Auckland, New Zealand, have invented certain new and useful improvements in and Relating to Wear and Strain Resisting Fabrics,y of-which the following is a speciiication.

ture these crescent-shaped sections of sheet rubber with rubberized fabric, but oftentimesgthe threads of the fabric were not properly impregnated with a vulcanizing solution before they were incorporated with' the sheet rubber.

The resent invention overcomes the de-A fects o said proposals and in so doing has produced a practical and long .wearing tread which will not separate under heavy loads, but which will have all the ladvantages of fabric-rubber treads. y

The third defect of the proposed treads,

namely that the fibers are not properly impregnated with rubberizing solution preparatory to the vulcanizing operation, I overcome by this invention by providing lfor the separate impregnation of each'in- Jdividual fiber before -the'threads are formed.

The tire tread vof the present invention is particularly well adapted to be manufactured independently of the tire. carcass so that as a separate article of manufacture it can be sold to tire manufacturers fortheir use in making finished tires. It is also well adapted for retreading purposes, especially on a carcass whichhas been built originally with the same tread.

10, 1920. Serial No. 409,293.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appe In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 i the tread of thereto.

s a sectional view of a tire with the present invention as applied Fig- 2 iS a perspective view of a fragment 5'" of a tread member made according to the I. present invention.

Fig. 3 isa ing a tread view similar to Fig. 2 but showmember having beveledv edges.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a tire with a tread member constructed according to the ntion in which the'strips constituting the tread are graduated so as to form a\ concaved inner surface-conforming to the contour of the tire carcass. 65

present inve Fig. 5 is a/detail perspective view of a single strip showing the threads embedded in thefside face thereof.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a vat and movable rack used in the process of impregnating the threads with rubberizing solution.

Fifr. 7 is a perspective view of an apparatus use d for embedding the threads in the sheet rubber.

Fig. apparatus, b

ut in this apparatus the threads are coated with a rubberizing solution before they are embedded in the rubber. sheet.

The tread 10 of the prese-nt invention may 8( be furnished in long strips to be cut and applied to the tire carcass'by the manufacturer of the tire or its may bemade up of such length and shape so that each tread 10 as an entity ymay be applied to a tire carcass. The

latter is the form I prefer at present, but

of course my invention is of such scope as to include the former arrangement.

in the drawings, the tread 10 is made up of a plurality of juxtaposed strips 9,

As shown 11, arranged in parallel relation and vulcan- 8 1s a perspectlve View of a simllar 7 ized-together, andV of such length as to extend around the periphery of the tire carcass 12, as shown in Fig. 4,

.or to be located in and extend from' acircumferential 9 groovey 13 p as shown in rovided in the tirecarcass 12, Fig. 1,- in both cases the ends' of the tread member meetingat some one place around the tire and being there vulcanized together.

- tion.

Each strip 11 is formed of soft sheet rubber and has embedded therein, transversely thereof, threads 14 preferably of silk, as will be hereinafter described. The threads 14 are separate from each other (that is, they do not overlap and are not interwoven), and all extend in the same direc- They are so disposed in the sheet rubber as to extend substantially perpendicularly of the thread, surface so that their ends will be presented to the road and will receive the wear thus reducing the wearing effect of the road on therubber. Further, the threads being so arranged are conducive to good traction and are not liable to slipping and skidding as are all-rubber treads.

The tread 10 may in some cases have'a base 15 of canvas, for instance as shown in Fig. 4, but this is not essential since the tread may be vulcanized directly to the carcass l2 of the tire if desired and as shown in Fig. 1 i

'Ihe groove 13 in the carcass of the tire for the tread 10 shownin Fig. 1 is preferably made to converge and the tread when mounted therein is compressed slightly so that it will tend to maintain itself in posi-v tion'lby friction in addition in the rubber of the carcass to which it isvulcanized, so that the rubber of the tread will be more condensed at the thinner part of carcass 12, and so that a greater wear surface will be presented to the road without 4weakening the carcass structure. struction a suitable filler 16 may be provided to make the external surface of the carcass extend close to the wear surface of the tread member 10. If desired, the vtread member 10 may be beveled atv17, as shown in Fig.' 3, and in this oase the fillers 16 extend to the start of the bevels. c, In the formsof treads and tire constructions shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the strips 11 are all substantially of the same height so as to have a flat wear surface and a flat surface for engagement with thecarcass of the tire. If, however, it is desired to have the. surface adjacent the tire carcass concave, as 1s the case when the tread is towbe applied to the peripheral surface of the carcass, as shown 1n Fig. 4, the height of the strips are`graduated, as at 17a, so.that the end .strips are relatively short. In this case the fillers 16a extend up to and contact with the entire side face of the .end strips.4 It should be noted that the canvas 15 can be omitted in this form of tire and tread as well as in the forms shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. v

The structure of the tread member 10 will be further referred to in connection with the following description of the process of im- Tn this form of tire con-` pregnatin the fibers of the threads and the process -o embedding the threads in the sheet rubber.

The threads to be used are formed, preferably, of silk known as tussah silk or other silk having substantially the same character.l

istics. Of course, as has been said other materials may be used and someof ythese will be discussed hereinafter. The silk is re moved from the cocoons in the usual way and is arranged in hanks for transportation and furtheruse in the process.

The hanks of silk ibers are then Washed" in hot soapy water to remove the natural gum therefrom and to open thelpore's of the iibers preparatory of the. impregnation step of the process. then dried. The dried fibers are then hung in hanks on rods 18 (Fig. 6) to extend into a vat 19 containing a rubberizin solution 20. So .that the silk fibers can e drawn through the solution during impregnation.-

to insure that each fiber comes 'in contact with the solution, the rods 18 are mounted in a carriage 21 which is guided on the vat and which-is movable manually or automatically by suitable means. f

The rubberizing Solution 20 is not the same as that of commerce,`since the latter is too thickto penetrate the fine ores of the silk fibers. It is, however, ma e by dilut-` ing the rubberizing solution of commerce with asutcient quantity of' alcohol which will render the solution thin enough to iilter through paper. I have found that if the solution can be filtered through paper it is The washed fibres arethin enough to penetrate the pores of the have been properly impregnated with the rubberizing solution, and dried and then formed into threads in the usual manner. The threads are then wound on spools to be used in the embedded process. Preferably, but not necessarily, the threads are each formedof approximately fibers.`

In Fig. 7 is shown a suitable apparatus for carrying out the next step of my invention, which is to embed the threads into the sheet rubber. As shown, the sheet 22, whichis of soft unvulcanized rubber approximately lgth of an inch thick, passes over a suitable roller 23, tables 24, and roller 252 The spools 26 of prepared thread are suitably'mounted so that the threads 27 leading therefroml -28 may be employed. An agate or other suitable plate having holes therein through which the threads pass may be used instead of the comb 28. The threads 27 and the rubber sheet 22, thus superposed,

vpass between a fixed roller 29 and a spring For lguiding the i thereover.

(not shown) pressed roller 30, so that the pressure between the rollers is sufficientto cause the threads 27 `to be impressed and embedded in the sheet 22 which is comparatively soft and tacky. The adhesion of the threads with the. rubber is further improved by the rubberizing solution which is contained in the fibers of the threads. .f

If preferably,under certain conditions, the threads 27 maybe given a. coating of rubberizing solution before they are embedded in the sheet 22. `,That is, they may be passed over rubberizing rollers 3l, see Fig. 8, which rollers are mounted in, or at least are located, in a tank 32 containing rubberizing solution 33, which need not be as dilute as the rubberizing solution 2O used to impregnate the fibers in the beginning of the process. rlhe roller 31 contacting with the solution 33 carries the same'up to and deposits it upon thel threads as they pass In this manner the threads will not only be constituted by fibers which were separately impregnated but will also comprise rubberizing solution between the separate fibers, thus being to a greater extent rubberized and in consequence will be more firmly united with the sheet rubber 22 when the vulcanizing operation is effected. Further, this coating will materially assist the threads in adhering to the rubber sheet 22 when they are embedded therein preparatory to the vulcanizin g operation. If one roller 31 is not sufficient for the purpose additional rollers may be provided.

rIhe sheet 22 is cut into vdesired lengths g after the embedding operation is completed and piled to a suitable height for the cutting operation. Preferably, thesheet 22 has a width equal to the circumference of the tire to which the tread is to be applied, but in cases where narrower sheets are used several piles of sheets are placed side by side so as to make up the necessary width for the above stated purpose. piles are then cut Vacross the threads, the distance between cuts equaling the thickness of the tread. rlhe cut strips are then turnedup on ends and a suitable number of groups are arranged together preparatory to the vulcanizing operation, the threaded surface of one strip being in contact with the plain lsurface of the adjacent strip.

In order that the cutting operation will not delay the embedding operation, thesheets 22 may be piledupon a table as they are received from the embedding machine and when a suitablenumber of sheets have been received for the cutting operation to commence the table being movable is re@- moved and an empty table moved into position to take its place.

The strips 11 are then placed in a suitable vulcanizing apparatus and vulvanized to- I gether, or, if the carcass and tread are to The;k Linto threads.

"be simultaneously vulcanized, the tread t strips 11 are assembled with the carcass and the entire assemblage placed in the vulcanizing apparatus.

If the tread is to be constructed asshown in Fig. 4 the strips which are of various heights are assembled in'proper order before. the vulcanizing operation is effected. If the tread is to be beveled as shown in Fig. 3, the bevel may be formed lin any desired manner either before or after the vulcanizing operation.

In anyA case, it should be understood, the strips 11 are so arranged that the threads are perpendicular to the wear surface.

In order to render the entire tread, fibersand rubber, more Waterproof, imperishable, and wear resisting, I incorporate in the raw rubber, in addition to ten per cent sulphur, ten to thirty per cent powdered asphaltum or bitumen. In addition to this, when cotton or flax -or similar fibers are used for the threads, I dissolve bitumen or asphaltum in naptha, gasoline, or benzine andadd twenty lper cent of this solution to the rubberizing solution above described which is used to impregnate the fibers. Hanks of cotton or flax fibers can be impregnated with e'ect of which will be to counteract such foreign matter and cause the rubber toadhere to the fibers. The hanks of fine cotton or flax fibers after they are impregnated are dried and straightened out in the usual Way and then when further treated with the rubberizing solution are returned tothe hank" machine or winding machine to be formed The cotton or flax threads may be coated just before they are embedded in the rubber sheet, and in this case the rubberizing solution used for coating preferably should contain from ,tento thirty per cent of bitumi- 115 nous mixture. In this connection'itimay be well to note that the solution used for coating the silk threads, preferably, should also contain a bituminous mixture, but in this case only'from ten to fifteen per cent is neces- 120 sary.

Instead of impregnati'ng the cotton and flax fibers separately with the rubbeizing solution, they may be first made into verfy\ fine threads and the threads impregnated in 125. the same manner as the fibers as above described. The separate threads can then be made into larger threads by twisting several fine threads together.

The threads which are embedded in the 130 rubber sheet may be of any desired thickmen rubber and silk material comprising a ness and may be placed at any desired disstrip of relatively thin bit'umen'rubber with 10 tance apart on the rubber sheet. f silk threads embedded therein, each of the Variations may be resorted to Within the silk threads comprising silk fibers each of 5 scope of my inyention and portions of the which is separately impregnated with a rubimprovements used Without others.v berizing solution.

I claim as my invention: In testimony whereof I aix my signature. 15

As a new article of manufacture, a bituv v .Y JOI-IN BROWN. 

